THIS WILL BE MY LAST UPDATE FOR TWO WEEKS! I am leaving for a United Nations Seminar. Hopefully I'll be able to post one chapter in between, but no promises. See you in two weeks guys! xoxo
Lucius seems to be determined to forget about his crying session in the bathroom, which suits me just fine. Lucius Malfoy crying over a girl is still new to me. It's proof he's not made of stone, also a new thing.
One thing that's changed is he sometimes hangs around with the rest of us in the evenings. Some nights he wants to be alone though, and everyone assumes he's in France. Maybe he is. I don't need to ask. I think he's grateful for it. Gradually, Lucius gets more comfortable around me again. He's more reclusive and introverted though, his face always streaked with worry. Determined not to let him hole up in his misery, I make sure Lucius sticks around more often as time goes on. He can go cry his eyes out in the French countryside at night if he wants to, but during the day, I won't let him stop living. I don't know why I care, I don't really know Lucius, and he's the only thing between me and the total power I was meant to have, but I'm content with the setup.
This year is definitely more interesting than anticipated.
"Nars, isn't that your families owl?" Vance asks at breakfast.
"It is... But, my parents never write!" I say, confused at the appearance of my families White-Faced Scops Owl, Purgo.
Purgo swoops low over the table, drops a letter in front of my plate and flies away.
Nice seeing you too.
"It's from Bellatrix?" I marvel aloud. Why would Bella write? She's been so angry lately and doesn't have time for me anymore. I read on.
I drop the letter right in my porridge.
"Nars?" Tarmac says uneasily, clearly concerned by the look on my face.
"I-I" I sputter. I can't voice it. It can't be true.
"Are you serious?" Vance says, ready the letter.
No, Sirius is my cousin, you oaf.
Never gets old.
Focus, Narcissa!
"Bellatrix is pregnant?" Tarmac gasps.
By evening, I'm still panicking.
Bella's having a baby.
Bellatrix.
Bellatrix who hates the world.
Bella with the too-short temper.
Bella with the worlds crappiest marriage.
Even our parents have a better marriage than Rodolphus and Bella.
Bellatrix hates kids.
She hated kids even when she was a kid!
"The astronomy tower?" A deep, smooth voice fills the entire room.
I look up, into the steely grey eyes of Lucius.
"I come here to think." I reply.
"You too? I thought this place was my secret." He says.
"What are you doing up here?" I ask.
"Crabbe and Goyle were asking around for you. Those two oafs can't function without you!" Lucius smirked.
"They're not a brilliant as Albus Dumbledore, but they're my two closest mates." I say, standing up for my boys.
"Dumbledore's not as smart as everyone thinks." Lucius grumbles, leaning on the railing and looking out at the lake.
What's he got against the Headmaster? I mean, the man doesn't favor Slytherin's by any means and loves mudbloods, but otherwise I don't have a problem with him.
"Either way, your posse was searching desperately for you, something about how upset you were this morning. You always listen to my whining, so what's up?"
Lucius is the last person I'd expect to care about someone else's problems. Then again, he's the last person who I expected to find crying in a bathroom. I hope his future children don't inherit that habit.
"Bellatrix is pregnant." I say simply.
Silence.
"Woah." Is all he says. He walks over from the railing and sits down beside me. "That's a bad thing then?"
"I don't know! I mean, she's my sister! I should be happy for her, right? But, Bella hates kids." I sigh.
"Kids along with everything else." Lucius chuckles. "Sorry. I know you two are close." He says quickly, looking me in the eye.
"But it's true! She hates everything! She's so angry after Andromeda! How is she supposed to properly raise a kid?" I say desperately.
"Would Rodolphus be much help?"
"He'll make things worse. They don't even love each other." I sigh.
"Then why'd they get married?" Lucius looks genuinely puzzled.
"Because it was the right thing to do." I reply simply.
Lucius says nothing, not wanting to pressure me further, although I can tell he's dying of curiosity.
"Our parents arranged Bella's marriage to Rodolphus. They've never loved each other, but they wouldn't dare defy their parents and shame the family. So, they did it. They got married, and they've been miserable ever since. I guess something's going well if Bella's pregnant, but that house is poisonous. I swear it's filled with dementors; it just sucks all the happiness out of you when you're in it, with that miserable pair. I guess we're all a miserable lot. But Rodolphus and Bellatrix sacrificed their own happiness for their families honor. They did the right thing, and now they're going to bring new life into the world, and I'm not convinced that they should." I explain. I've never done this before, share my feelings. I don't think Lucius has either. We've kept everything bottle up for so long.
He says nothing then. Instead, Lucius stands up, and pulls me up with him. Then, he hugs me.
I never could've picture Lucius Malfoy hugging anyone, let alone me, before this moment.
"It's like they became best friends overnight!"
That's what people whisper about Lucius and I.
And in a way, they're right.
That night, Lucius and I established an unspoken trust and understanding of one another. We're both in the same boat, to-high expectations from our families, to-low expectations from everyone else. We've fallen from the top to the bottom, and clawed our way back up again, together. I was the only one there when he needed someone, and he was there for me.
We look at life and the challenges it brings in the same way. We always get along and we're the perfect team. Unstoppable.
Did anyone catch the joke about Lucius' children inheriting his habit of crying in bathrooms? If not, I'll be very disappointed indeed.
